Series 9: The Alternative
by Apollo199199
Summary: What if the storyline took a different direction after Episode 6? What if old faces returned to the Grid? What if new friends joined the fight? What if the truth about Lucas/John that was revealed was not what we thought it was?
1. Chapter 1

**NOTE:** _I decided that I should write my own version of how I thought this series would turn out. It's really just to make myself feel better, so you can think of this as sort of an alternative Series 9 storyline. Hopefully you all like it and I portray the characters well, this is my first venture into the Spooks fanfic world, so I hope I did well._

**TIMELINE:** _Sets after Series 9 Episode 6_

**Oh yeah, disclaimer is needed. I DO NOT own Spooks, if I did, Lucas's storyline would have never ended the way it did with such disgrace and destruction to his character.**

**Series 9: The Alternative - Chapter One**

Patryk Donovan had been sitting in the living room sifting through his study books when knocks on the door captured his attention.

A frown appeared on his face, people rarely ever knocked on the door at his house, especially not this late at night. His first instinct was to grab his mother and sister, and run out the back door, but seeing as how no one was actively kicking down the door, it may not actually be a kill squad. But just to be on the safe side, Patryk quietly moved to a nearby drawer, reached in and pulled out a 9mm that used to belong to his father, and then tip-toed to the door and peeked out the eye hole on the door.

The face that greeted him came as a complete shock, a way too familiar face that he had not seen since a decade ago when he was 8 years old, a face belonging to a man that he had thought was long dead.

Opening the door in a flash, two bright blue eyes locked gazes under the moonlight.

"Lucas…"

Disbelief colored Patryk's voice, eyes wide open and mouth agape in shock as he took in the unmistakable form of one MI5 agent, Lucas North.

"Hello Patryk…"

For his part, Lucas North tried to give a gentle smile, knowing that it had to be a shock to walk into the young man's life after a decade of absence. And considering what he was about to ask the boy to do, the least he could do was try to put him at ease.

"You're…" Patryk was having a hard time finding his voice, "I didn't think…he…they told me…they told me that you weren't coming back…"

Patryk Jacob Donovan remembered clearly that day ten years ago when he had come home to his father, mother, and two MI5 agents sitting in the living room with solemn expressions. He remembered his shock and grief when he was told that Lucas wasn't coming home, that he had been taken away. He remembered the tears that wouldn't go away for days, how he raged and shouted at everyone he had come into contact with. How over the years as he grew older, he realized the grim truth and reality of Lucas's fate and had to learn to accept it.

And now, the man he had thought he lost all those years ago is standing at his front door looking for all intents and purposes like he had just killed a puppy.

Now _THAT_ was a look that Patryk knew all too well, and it didn't take a genius to figure out something was very _very_ wrong.

Taking a step back and allowing Lucas into the house, Patryk closed the door and turned back to look at the tall dark-haired man he had thought of as an uncle. He was still shocked and surprised, he still wanted to know how and when did Lucas came back, he wanted all the details and a part of him couldn't wait, but the most logical side of him also knew that Lucas wouldn't have shown up out of the blue without a damn good reason, especially not having _that_ look. The world Lucas North operated in was full of danger, who knew what trouble was now befalling him. Patryk was about to ask when Lucas spoke up.

"I'm sorry…about your father…"

Patryk glanced down at the carpet at the mention of his father. It had been a long time since anyone ever talked about his father, Jacob Donovan, the CIA station chief in London until his death in 2005. His father and Lucas were great friends, some would have even said the best of friends. It had devastated his father as much as Patryk when Lucas had been captured in Moscow all those years ago. In many ways, Patryk knew his father never forgot what happened, and he never stopped trying to find a way for Lucas to come home.

"Your mother…is she…"

"She's coping…" Patryk finally looked back up, "Doctors say that it…it may take a long time before she'll ever really recover. But she has Hope, my little sister, around, they say it helps."

Patryk smiled a bit at the thought of his 5 year old baby sister Hope Grace Donovan, the joy of the family, and just like her name, she was always hopeful, always optimistic. With his mother's despondent and near catatonic condition, having Hope around was the best kind of medicine she could have. Patryk thanked his lucky stars every day that his mother had not lose the baby.

Turning his thoughts away from his family, Patryk spoke again, "While I would be thrilled to know how you came back, there is a reason that you are standing in my living room this late at night and I'm sure it's not to swap life stories, right?"

Lucas should have known that he couldn't really fool the young 18 year old boy. You didn't have Jacob Donovan for a father and not know a few tricks, and it's not like Lucas didn't notice the gun still held in Patryk's hand. Good old Jacob had taught his son well. Lucas knew Patryk was more than capable of the task, but asking the boy to risk everything, to possibly place his family at risk, Lucas was honestly having a hard time trying to get the words out.

"I've…I've been back for nearly two years…" Lucas saw the brief glimpse of shock on Patryk's face before he hid it away, "But that's not why I'm here…something's been wrong with me…I've done things that I…I can't even bring myself to think about…"

Patryk watched closely as a look of disgust and fear began to appear in Lucas's eyes.

"I don't know what's going on…I let this young girl die…I just…something's really wrong and it's scaring me." Lucas was truly afraid, he knew ever since he saw Vaughn that there was something strange, but now he feels like he's losing control, like something inside of him has gone seriously wrong, "I don't know who to trust. But you…I knew I could trust..."

"What do you need me to do?"

Lucas was actually surprised at Patryk's willingness to help without even asking questions, he had thought there may be resistance, even distrust, but what he saw in Patryk's eyes were determination and sincerity. It helped calm Lucas down, knowing that there may be a way out of this mess that he had gotten himself in.

"I need you to enact Protocol Charlie Theta."

Patryk raised an eyebrow at that, "The old-school code? But…"

"I know…" Lucas knew that it was a strange choice, but he was out of options, "But you guys are the only ones I can trust, I don't know who could be watching. I know I'm asking a lot from you Patryk, and I know you have every reason to turn me down but I…"

"Consider it done." Patryk answered before Lucas could finish his words, "We're family, you stand by me, I stand by you. I'll call him, but you're gonna have to explain everything."

Indicating to Lucas to sit down, Patryk prepared himself for the long haul, he knew this was going to be one hell of an explanation.

* * *

The day had been long and tiring to one Harry Pearce, head of Section D within MI5. The mess with the Grid going into lock-down and the death of one White House cryptographer was bad enough, but now he had to think why his own officers have started becoming suspicious of each other.

He knew that Ruth's instincts are rarely wrong, but he also owed Lucas some semblance of trust. It did start to worry him when Lucas refused to answer his calls, surely his newly instated Section Chief could be trusted, after all, Lucas had come through for the team on numerous occasions, not to mention the eight years spent in Russia that Harry never really stopped blaming himself for letting it happen.

Harry had just about to sit down to have a drink when movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Immediately bringing his gun to point it at the spot in the dark where he knew someone was standing at, Harry thanked God that he always kept a weapon close by.

"Hello Harry…"

That familiar voice, it took a second for Harry to place it, after all, he had not heard it for nearly 6 years.

The shadowy figure finally stepped into the light to reveal a man that Harry Pearce remembered all too well and didn't think he would see again, his old Section Chief, Tom Quinn.

"We need to talk."


	2. Chapter 2

**NOTE:** Thanks for everyone's encouraging comments! I'm glad you guys really like this! I hope this story gives Lucas the rightful ending he deserved!

Also, a special treat for all my fellow Spooks-lovers, I have made my version of the Spooks Series 9 opening made just for this fanfic. Characters include the Series 9 cast as well as Tom Quinn and Patryk Donovan. The video is on Youtube under the account name "BetaArtemis"

_**DISCLAIMER: DO NOT OWN SPOOKS EXCEPT MY CHARACTER PATRYK.**_

**Series 9: The Alternative – Chapter Two**

_The shadowy figure finally stepped into the light to reveal a man that Harry Pearce remembered all too well and didn't think he would see again, his old Section Chief, Tom Quinn._

_"We need to talk."_

Harry Pearce wasn't a man who could be easily startled, but seeing his old section chief again after so long was rather unexpected. But before he could react, another voice joined in.

"You know, for an age-old spook, I expected better security than this."

Harry turned behind him to find a young man with piercing blue eyes, dark blond hair, and dressed in jeans, dark blue t-shirt, black leather jacket, and wearing dog tags, leaning against the doorway and looking at him with amusement in the young man's eyes.

It took a second for Harry's memory to recognize the boy, but those blue eyes had been a dead give-away.

"PJ Donovan, if I assume correctly?"

The boy rolled his eyes and muttered, "Oh wonderful, that nickname just had to get stuck…" Shaking his head, the young man straightened and pushed off from the doorway, "Patryk please."

"All grown up I see."

"Well, puberty tends to do that to ya." Patryk chuckled.

And grown up he was. Harry had not seen the young son of Jacob Donovan for nearly 5 years since at the elder Donovan's funeral service. The boy was no longer the small 13 year old child who gave a tearful eulogy for his father and tried his best to comfort his pregnant mother. No, this young man before his eyes had a confident aura and bright eyes that held wisdom beyond his years.

"Patryk, can you give Harry and me a moment alone?"

If Tom hadn't spoken, Harry would have almost forgotten that he had been in the room. Harry caught a look pass between Tom and Patryk before the young man sighed and nodded.

"No problem…" Patryk said as he turned around and called over his shoulder as he made to leave the room, "I'll just go find some kitchen knives to amuse myself with."

As young Patryk left the room, only Harry and Tom remained present.

Within seconds, Tom rounded on Harry, closing into his personal space, bright eyes blazing with hidden anger, "How could you never tell me he was back?"

To Harry's credit, he didn't flinch at Tom's outburst, and it didn't take a genius to figure whom Tom was referring to.

"Tom, I couldn't…I was trying to protect him…." Harry tried to calmly explain before being cut off.

"From who? Me? Patryk?" Tom looked at Harry with an incredulous expression, "What did you think we were gonna do? Tell the whole world? Hurt him? For God's sake Harry, he's my friend!"

"Tom, you know that I couldn't…"

"Don't give me any of that security crap, Harry!" Tom spat out in anger, "You of all people know what I had gone through after Lucas was taken! You of all people saw how much it broke Patryk! You couldn't give either of us the decency to just let us know that he's okay?"

Harry sighed in heavily, "Tom, you'd left the service, I couldn't just tell you."

"That's bull, Harry, and you know it." Tom's voice had taken on a bitter tone, "Every night I go to sleep, I replay those moments in my head. Every night I watch them drag him away, I hear his voice screaming at me to get out. And every night I imagine the horrors they do to him…." Tom paused for a second as his voice broke, emotions trying break free, "You didn't think for just ONE second that I needed to know?"

There was nothing Harry knew he could say that would appease Tom's hurtful feelings. He had made a choice when Lucas returned to make sure that very few would know of his return to the Grid. Other than those within the government and the agency, and maybe the CIA and FSB, Harry had tried as best as he could to deflect any attempts to find Lucas. He had set up networks and contingencies trying to protect Lucas's well-being. He had made that choice knowing that there were others on the outside that may want to know, but he couldn't afford everyone in the world easily finding Lucas. He had let Lucas down once in Moscow, he couldn't do it again.

"I did what I thought was best." Harry knew the younger man would have a hard time understanding being left out of the loop, "I had to protect him, just like with you and Zoe. Just like I can't let anyone easily know where you are or where Zoe is, I can't let people know so easily about Lucas. It's for everyone's good that it stays a secret."

"Oh you sure kept that secret well I gotta give you points for that." Tom snorted bitterly, "Every day I try to find news of Lucas, there were a few times that his name popped up, but they only led me around in circles that eventually I just gave up. You know how Patryk had to find out? Lucas showing up at his house out of the blue. If Patryk hadn't called me, if Lucas hadn't shown up, I never would have known that he's finally free."

"He showed up at Patryk's home?" That caught Harry's attention, Lucas knew better than to go off into unknown territory, as much as the Donovans were old friends. It was still dangerous to security. "Why?"

"He was scared…"

Heads turned as young Patryk had returned to the room.

"Scared?" There were many things that Harry knew Lucas may be, but scared was hardly one of them.

"Freaked out, terrified…" Patryk's tone was serious, the humor he had displayed earlier was gone, "He told Tom and me that there were gaps in his memory, things that he couldn't control, how he framed a fellow agent, how he raced to Malcolm's house in a fit of rage that he couldn't understand, that he remembers this man named Vaughn giving him a briefcase, something about a bombing in Dakar, a girl named Maya, Vaughn telling him to find Albany, and that he let that White House cryptographer die in his arms."

A dreadful sinking feeling ran through Harry, red flags going up in alarms, "Oh god…" He breathed out as his hands went to cover his face. Ruth had been right about this after all.

"He had Patryk enact Protocol Charlie Theta." Tom spoke up.

Harry looked up in surprise, "The Triangle protocol? Why? You, Lucas, and Jacob Donovan hadn't run that since 1999."

"Clearly something's wrong that he can't trust anyone else to help. Or else why would he go to Patryk knowing the danger."

"Where is Lucas now?" Harry was already formulating plans in his head, he had to contain the situation.

"Tom and I dropped him off at one of my Dad's old safe houses on the way here. He's with my bodyguard Sebastian."

* * *

Lucas North lay on the bed at the Donovan safe house, shaking, exhausted, and afraid to go to sleep because he knew the nightmares would come. Something had been wrong with him for a while now, he had began to notice ever since Vaughn showed up. It was like something inside of him is trying to break out and it scares him. He had been trying to keep quiet, trying to fix it on his own, but today everything had blown up in his face that he couldn't deny it anymore. He had let an innocent girl die simply because she had spoken the words 'Albany', he had felt rage against dear old Malcolm. Something was definitely wrong, he couldn't ignore it anymore. And in fear of any leaks within Section D, he had gone off to a very old friend. Little Patryk Donovan.

He could trust Patryk, he could trust the old school protocol that had been put in place in case any of them needed to go off the grid. It was their unique distress call, and Patryk served as the base.

Lucas had to admit that he had been surprised to see Tom Quinn walk through the door after Patryk had made the call. Harry had told him that Tom had took early retirement and Lucas knew his file had been sealed for protection purposes, so Lucas wasn't sure his old friend would answer the call. But once they had laid eyes on each other again, it was just like old times.

And as he sat in Patryk's house coming up with a plan with Patryk and Tom, it felt just like the old days, the days before Moscow, the days before his life had been shot to hell.

He knew Tom and Patryk had gone off to contact Harry, but a part of Lucas feared that Harry would hate him for what he had done, that Harry would see it as betrayal. But at this point, he didn't have a lot of options, coming clean to Harry may be his only way out.

With that thought in mind, Lucas willed himself to go to sleep. And soon he had drifted off into a calm rest, a calm rest that was soon interrupted by an incessant voice that wouldn't leave him alone.

'_Find Albany. Must find Albany for Maya's sake. No time to delay, have to find Albany.'_

Blue eyes suddenly opened once more, but these were not the blue eyes that once held compassion and care, these eyes were cold and menacing.

As if like a robot, Lucas got up from bed and got dressed. One bodyguard stood between his way and freedom. It shouldn't be hard to escape. As he carefully made it outside without noise, blue eyes found the figure of the bodyguard. Sneaking up behind the dark-suited man, he swiftly dispatched the man by snapping his neck. The bodyguard dropped to the ground before he could react. A smirk came over the once gentle face of Lucas North, and he stepped over the body without a thought.

Freedom, Albany, Maya, those are the most important thing he needs to worry about now.

* * *

"Call your guard." Harry turned to the young man, "We'll have to bring Lucas to the Grid as quickly as we can to contain this if we want to have any chance of helping him. Albany is a state secret, if he's after it, nothing good can come out of this."

Patryk looked at him briefly in surprise before he nodded and immediately dialed for his guard Sebastian, but when no one picked up, a frown came over Patryk's face, "Damn it, he's not answering."

Grave looks came across both Tom Quinn and Harry Pearce's faces, neither of them needed to be explained just what that could mean.

"Lucas may already be lost to us…" Harry paced around in his living room, "We need a plan, if he's already on the move then we need to be on the Grid to track him."

Grabbing his suit jacket and his cell phone, Harry Pearce put a hand on young Patryk's shoulder as he turned his attention on the young man, "I need you to go back to the safe house, find out what's wrong, and contact Lucas as fast as you can. You need to be out there sticking close to him. You are not a threat to him, and as of right now, that makes you easily trustworthy than any of us. Use your connection with him. Stay close. You'll need to go dark, no contact to us. He'll be sure to watch so you'll have to be genuine. You're on your own in this…"

"Harry, I don't think that's…"

"It's fine Tom." Patryk looked to Tom in assurance before turning back to Harry, determination written all over his face, "I can do this."

"Good." Harry patted the young man's shoulder in support before looking to Tom. "Where's the rest of the family? Are they safe?"

"Christine's got the kids and Patryk's mother and sister. They should be out of the country by now. She knows what to do."

Harry was glad that at least there were less people to worry about protecting, "You and I will go back onto the Grid and track him as if he is an enemy agent. The information Lucas told you two will stay between the three of us and Malcolm once I contact him to be back on the Grid as well. If Lucas enacted Charlie Theta, then we don't know who could be watching, so we can't tell the others, the less they know the better in case anything goes wrong."

Tom nodded in agreement as the three moved out of Harry Pearce's residence and gathered outside in front of two cars, one belonging to Harry, and the other belonging to Patryk.

Tom ruffled Patryk's hair affectionately, "Be careful, okay?"

"I'm a big boy now, Tom, stop worrying." Patryk smiled as he clapped Tom on the shoulder.

Tom smiled back in return before the two headed off into different cars, but before Patryk could get into his car, another voice stopped him.

"Good luck Patryk." Harry called to the young man. It was strange that Harry Pearce, a man who trusted very few people in his life and had very few uses or tolerance for Americans, was now placing the fate of Queen and Country in the hands of an 18 year old American boy. Maybe things were really going worse than he thought.

Harry watched as Patryk Donovan gave him a haphazard one finger salute before getting into his car and drive away.

There was no going back now. The plan was in motion, and Harry Pearce can only hope that it will all turn out okay in the end, but long years in this business had taught him to know better, nothing is ever that easy.


End file.
